FSU has talent, swagger of old

Florida State’s Kelvin Benjamin catches a touchdown pass over Duke’s Bryon Fields, left, and Jeremy Cash, right, in Saturday’s ACC Championship game in Charlotte. The Seminoles took home the trophy with a 45-7 lopsided victory over the Blue Devils.

Associated Press

By Clark Leonard

Published: Sunday, December 8, 2013 at 09:28 PM.

It’s a familiar feeling around Florida State football these days, but it just hasn’t been felt in more than a decade before this season.

We became so accustomed to the Seminoles making national championship runs in the 1990s and 2000, it seemed as natural as the Atlanta Braves winning the National League East in those times.

With Saturday night’s 45-7 victory against Duke in the ACC Championship, Florida State (13-0) has put itself back in the national title game for the first time in 13 seasons.

The distinction between a season ago and Saturday could not have been more clear.

It’s a familiar feeling around Florida State football these days, but it just hasn’t been felt in more than a decade before this season.

We became so accustomed to the Seminoles making national championship runs in the 1990s and 2000, it seemed as natural as the Atlanta Braves winning the National League East in those times.

With Saturday night’s 45-7 victory against Duke in the ACC Championship, Florida State (13-0) has put itself back in the national title game for the first time in 13 seasons.

The distinction between a season ago and Saturday could not have been more clear.

Last season’s 21-15 ACC title win against Georgia Tech was an exercise in a superior FSU team nearly frittering a game away. Afterward, it was a festive atmosphere after the program’s first league title since 2005.

The expected victory against Duke was a methodical display by the nation’s No. 1 team. While smiles were aplenty among those in garnet and gold, it wasn’t as much about what had just transpired as what remains ahead.

That’s a shot at the school’s third national championship, looking to add to those won by Bobby Bowden’s Seminoles in 1993 and 1999.

Add in the formality that redshirt freshman quarterback Jameis Winston will collect the school’s third Heisman Trophy — joining Charlie Ward (1993) and Chris Weinke (2000) — this Saturday in New York, and it’s like old times for the Seminoles.

For years, Florida State has had the type of talent that could lead to this type of revival of the program’s national profile. That talent level is even a notch higher now, and the players and coach Jimbo Fisher are laser-focused.

It would be a mistake to assume they’ll breeze by Auburn, though.

The second-ranked Tigers (12-1) aren’t just one of the best stories in the nation — miracle tipped touchdown pass against Georgia, 109-yard return of missed field goal against Alabama and 59 points in the SEC Championship. They’re also an extremely tough team to stop.

Their running game, led by dual-threat quarterback Nick Marshall and Tre Mason — he of 304 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the SEC-clincher — might be even more dangerous than the Winston-led FSU attack. The Tigers’ speed, efficiency and wealth of offensive options give them a chance.

If Auburn’s defense can raise its play to the level of the moment, it could win the fifth straight national title for the state of Alabama and the eighth consecutive for the Southeastern Conference.

Calling either team a favorite in this final BCS championship — a four-team playoff starts next season — is almost a misnomer. They’re both worthy of the moment and tough in their own ways. It’s a heavyweight fight for sure.